Australia will be targeting Asia for the lucrative corporate meetings and incentives market, with a trade forum in Macau next year to showcase Australia as a business events destination, Tourism Australia’s Managing Director, Geoff Buckley, announced.

The Team Australia Business Events Educational (TABEE) will be held in Macau, from 3 to 5 March 2008, and follows a series of business event trade marketing activities held in Taiwan, Korea and Singapore this year.

“TABEE 2008 celebrates the 10th anniversary of Tourism Australia’s largest trade activity for the business event sector in Asia, helping to generate millions of dollars in future business for Australia,” Geoff Buckley said.

“This trade event puts Australian operators including venues, hotels, attractions, airlines and other suppliers right before buyers, agents and planners from the fast growing Asian markets. It is our most important trade event for securing future business events from Asia and is fully backed by our convention bureaux partners,” added Buckley.

During the visit to Macau around 60 industry operators, including up to 13 Australian convention bureaux, will meet with 120 travel agents and corporate meeting and incentive planners from 12 countries for one-on-one business appointments. Tourism Australia’s partner venue is the Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel.

“Our message to agents and buyers is that Australia is a great place to re-energise their clients’ business – whether it’s holding a meeting in our world-class facilities or rewarding employees with experiences that capture our unique environment and lifestyle,” Buckley said.

“International business travellers generated $1.7 billion in Australia last year with the corporate incentive visitors to Australia spending around $375 per day – four times more than the average for all visitors to Australia ($92 per day). Events such as TABEE provide a terrific opportunity to target high spending business events markets and let them know that Australia is ready and waiting to re-charge their businesses and people,” concluded Geoff Buckley.

Team Australia is a marketing alliance between Tourism Australia and the Association of Australian Convention Bureaux.

Tourism Australia is committed to boosting Australia’s profile as a business events destination. In the past six months, Tourism Australia has mounted a series of trade marketing initiatives to bolster business from key Asian markets.

These have included: the launch of “Re-energise in Australia” direct campaign targeting decision makers, influencers and intermediaries across seven key industries; trade missions in Singapore, Taiwan, and Korea; a corporate familiarisation visit to the Gold Coast and Melbourne, targeting 19 corporate buyers from eight markets across Asia.